London: The new current chief executive of the Royal Opera House, Tony Hall, is to be the director-general of BBC, BBC television news said on Thursday.

Hall, a former chief executive of BBC news, will replace George Entwistle who resigned earlier this month after failing to get to grips with a child sex abuse scandal that has thrown the 90-year-old state-funded broadcaster into turmoil.

BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten said Hall was “the right person to lead the BBC out of its current crisis”.

His journalism experience would be “invaluable as the BBC looks to rebuild its reputation”, Patten added in a statement to staff quoted on the BBC’s news website.

“The past eight weeks have been very traumatic for the BBC but this is a significant day ... (that) marks the beginning of a new phase.

“The key challenge will be re-establishing our reputation with the public. I hope you will all support Tony Hall as he goes about the important work of doing just that.”